Diplomas have long been one of the most decisive criteria in a candidate’s recruitment for a job. While this is still the case in some sectors, it is increasingly being edged out by soft skills.

These intangible assets are particularly in demand in the job market, according to a recent survey from the United States.

A candidate’s ability to manage time effectively is high on the priority list for recruiters. In fact, 47% of employers surveyed by employment platform ZipRecruiter believe that the candidates they interview lack this skill that could help them land the job they’re after.

Professionalism and critical thinking are the other two soft skills most lacking among job seekers, according to talent acquisition professionals, who estimate that 43% and 39% of working people lack these respective soft skills.

These results demonstrate the growing importance of what is commonly known as the “skills-first” approach. This means giving priority to skills, particularly behavioral ones, over diplomas.

Companies that unnecessarily demand academic qualifications often fail to recruit effectively, and also deprive themselves of valuable and productive talent by excluding those who have not completed a bachelor’s or master’s degree.

In addition, there’s no evidence to suggest that long studies are always conducive to learning professional skills, depending on the sector.

With this in mind, managers are trying to move away from prioritising academic qualifications in the hiring process. The vast majority of those surveyed (72%) say they favour a skills-first or skills-based approach to recruitment.

What’s more, 45% of them said they no longer required university degrees for some of the positions they filled last year. Overall, ZipRecruiter found that the proportion of job offers including a bachelor’s degree in the list of required skills has fallen by 10% since last year.